The Color Of His Shadow
by OWLKEEPER101
Summary: In a near-successful attempt to kill Shadow the Hedgehog, a futuristic female hedgehog flees after being injured, only to be followed by none other than her target himself. Attacker and target grow closer together, but can Shadow's new 'friend' be trusted? Shadow x OC, please, please, PLEASE review!


**This is the very first fanfic I've ever written, and tried to publish. It involves my OC, so if you do not enjoy reading about these kinds of pair-ups, than don't read. I'm a bit nervous about Shadow's personality in this; I don't think I captured it right. let me know what you think.**

 **Shadow the Hedgehog, Omega, and others all belong to sega.** **I own Ebony** **. Resemblance in characters to an actual person, OC or official character via name, appearance, or attitude is completely coincidental. Now, on to the show! please R &R, and enjoy!**

 **ooooooooooooo**

Shadow the Hedgehog darted across the nighttime landscape. he stopped, took a glance behind himself, and felt the fur rise on his back as he shivered in fear, for what felt like the first time since the attack on ARK.

He had heard rumors about a pure white hedgehog attempting to murder his rival, Sonic. The strange, young albino was seen in the center of Soleanna, the city of water, strangling him with an unseen force. Sonic had gotten away, and sent out a warning via his chaos emerald.

"Keep an eye out," Sonic had told him. "I don't know if he's after you too, Shadow, but this hedgehog is dangerous!"

Now it was night, and Shadow had a feeling he was being followed. no, not a feeling. he could sense it. he _knew_ he was being followed. the funny part was, however, that if it was the hedgehog that attacked Sonic, the white fur would have nearly glowed in contrast to the dark, and given him away. but when Shadow looked around, he saw darkness, trees, and nothing more.

Shadow shook his head.

"You're tired," he consoled himself, not really believing his own words. "You haven't slept in a long time, you're seeing things..." He closed his eyes for a moment.

" _Good. That will make this easy!_ "

Shadow jumped a foot off the ground as the hard, female voice went off in his head. "what in the world of Chaos..!" He started, but couldn't finish; he was too stunned to react as the black blur shot down from the sky, like a fragment of the night, and knocked him down. he scrabbled in the wet grass for a moment, before hoisting himself up on his elbows, glaring around. Another shiver, and his quills stood on end. There was no one there.

"Iblis Trigger!" the mysterious figure shouted at him. it sounded like it was overhead. "The world will burn because of you!"

 _Iblis Trigger..?_ Thought Shadow. _That's what the albino called Sonic, right?_

"Look, whoever you are. I was created to protect the planet, not destroy it! I don't even know what you're talking about!" He growled venomously, glancing around. a dark flash entered the corner of his eye. his head turned in that direction, his fur rising. nothing.

"Show yourself, at least! Can I see who the hell I'm talking to?" he stood up, his Quills quivering.

Shadow heard a small _Snap,_ and he whirled around before pouncing forth, letting out a triumphant "Gotcha!" as he did so. he cursed as his hands hit only open air.

"Not quite, Iblis Trigger," sneered the voice, and Shadow jumped again. he whirled around, and stopped. without really meaning for it, his mouth opened.

Behind him stood a _very_ pretty hedgehog, a female with Black fur even darker than his own, and almost hypnotic violet eyes. she was unlike any hedgehog he had ever seen; she had five quills pointing up and back from her face, and only two on the back of her head, hanging down. a dark gray patch of thicker fur covered her chest and surrounded her neck, and she wore strange, white gloves with glowing, violet, upside down triangles on the front and back. her eyelids were half lowered, revealing purple eye shadow.

Shadow spat a not-terribly-nice name at her.

"Some vocabulary." she crooned, completely unfazed. she then leaped up and over him, planting a hard kick on Shadow's head as she did so. the said hedgehog growled angrily before lunging at her, only to watch her disappear in a flash of violet light. she reappeared behind him, she quickly swept Shadow's feet out from under him, making fall on his belly. he let out an indignant "hey!" as she planted a wedge-heeled shoe on his red-striped head.

"My name is Ebony the Hedgehog, not 'female dog.'" she growled, pushing her foot harder against Shadow's head, making him wince. Ebony leaned down close to his ear, and hissed ominously.

"Be glad that I'm instructed to kill you as soon as possible," she threatened. "Because I'm one to... _play_ with my prey, before I kill it. and I play _rough._ "

Shadow struggled against her, but it was useless. he was trapped. he whimpered, and then Ebony said the words that had haunted him practically his whole life...

"Soyanara, Shadow the Hedgehog!"

Maria's last words to him.

Shadow lost it.

Struggling frantically, he thrashed and shouted, flailing hard enough that Ebony's hold on him dislodged. he scrambled up, only barely hearing Ebony's cry of frustration. "You're not going _anywhere!_ "

Shadow tried to run, but suddenly it seemed as if there was an invisible rope tied around his feet. he fell, his arms firmly stuck to his sides. terror burst in his heart. He couldn't move! Shadow glanced at himself, surprised to see he was glowing violet. he looked up to where Ebony stood, and she was holding up a palm, also glowing violet. she smirked at him.

"did you really think you could get very far from someone like me?" she growled, coming up to his side. she held up her other hand; a glowing, violet plasma hook appeared. Shadow felt the color drain from his muzzle. _This could be it,_ he thought, as the hedgehog lowered her hook, pricking at the side of his face. wherever the hook touched him, a hot, searing sensation made him grit his teeth in pain.

"Time to save the future," she snarled, and raised the hook over her head. Shadow, feeling sick all of the sudden, closed his eyes, and prepared to meet the end...

the blow never came.

in it's place, an outraged sound filled the air, and Ebony looked up just in time to see Omega behind her. the robot swung an arm; Shadow's eyes popped open at the agonized screech that erupted from his attacker. he saw a dark lump on the ground, which Shadow recognized as Ebony. Omega loomed over her, his sharp, metal claws red. Shadow then saw the deep slash in Ebony's shoulder as she stared, terrified, at the robot.

"Omega?" Shadow called. his mechanical friend turned to him. Shadow watched as Ebony took the advantage. she leaped into the air, her arm hanging uselessly at her side. even from his place on the ground, he could see it was bone-deep. she rose high into the air, glowing purple, cursing as she snatched a leaf off a tree to slap over the wound. she then shot off in the direction of a nearby cliff.

"IS SHADOW UNHARMED?" Omega asked, scooping a now unrestrained Shadow off the ground. he sighed with relief. he was safe.

"I'm okay, Omega. just a bit shaken."

"OMEGA CANNOT CALCULATE REASONS FOR TARGET TO HARM SHADOW: URGE TO MAIM TARGET, RISING." Omega said. for being a robot, he certainly was vengeful.

Shadow looked over at the cliff that Ebony had disappeared to. he felt a nervous jolt as he realized that the warm glow of a fire hadn't shown up yet. was she still alive?

Shadow made up his mind. it was probably the most idiotic idea he could come up with, but he had to know if she was okay.

"let me down, Omega, please, and take Ebony off your target list. I'm gonna go talk to her."

ooooooooooo

Ebony couldn't understand why she was feeling so... so wrong, in trying to kill the Iblis Trigger. Sure, he was a trained G.U.N special agent; yes, he had a giant, dangerous robot for a friend; yep, he was strong and very fast, but... well, let's just say that Ebony felt as if she shouldn't have to leave with a wound in her shoulder deep enough that she wasn't sure that stitches would even be able to help!

She growled, frustrated, as she laid down in a small niche in the back of the dark cave. Ebony had not dared to light a fire. not only had she seen enough of Iblis and the demon's flames, but she had pyrophobia. she hated fire with a passion unmatched by anything else. she remembered the housefire that had killed her and her little brother Silver's parents, their dad, Bronze, and their mom, Platinum. not only had it killed them, but She had been so scared for their safety that Ebony ran back in to find them...

Ebony winced, not from her shoulder, but from the memory. she could almost still feel the excruciating pain as the roof collapsed in on her. she glared at her left leg, a permanent reminder of that horrid night. her shin was curved slightly, having been broken and badly burned as a result off the roof falling on her. it hadn't healed correctly; there was no medical help in her time. it was a miracle that it hadn't been mangled worse. she could be a one-legged Hedgehog right now, were it not for Tukia...

She sighed. thoughts of her coyote foster sister would have to wait. she felt so weak... was it fatigue, or blood loss? she didn't know. more that she didn't care, really. oh well.

"Of course there had to be a robot..." she muttered, as she closed her eyes. her shoulder sang with pain, and she gritted her teeth.

"He was saving my life."

Ebony's head shot up, whacking against the stone roof of the niche. she groaned and rubbed her ears as she stared at the mouth of the cave; her target stood there, silhouetted in the entrance.

"you..!" Ebony gasped, leaping to her feet. her arm ached in protest as she took on a fighting stance.

"If you had any sense at all, you'd be running in the opposite direction!" she said, bewildered. why the _hell_ had he followed her? Shadow must be either very brave, or very stupid.

"I only wanted to talk to you," Shadow said, glancing around the cave. "and check to see if you were okay."

"I just tried to _kill_ you!"

"I know."

"You aren't very smart to be hanging around after."

The Crimson-striped hedgehog glared at her. she was treading on thin ice, Ebony knew, but she couldn't help it. it was fun!

Shadow moved into the cave, looking around. he then brought out a glittering gem into his hand.

Ebony's eyes immediately fixed on the Emerald. it was red, and about the size of a softball. it glowed with a soft radiance of power.

Wow.

"Erm... nice emerald," she commented, watching as Shadow piled up some sticks in a corner. he looked over at her for a moment, his ruby eyes unreadable. she watched as he stood back, holding up the gem in his hand.

"It's a Chaos Emerald." He said. "I can manipulate it's power to suit my needs." with that, he raised the jewel, and said, " _Chaos inferno_."

the sticks burst into flame, illuminating the cave and making Ebony jump so badly that she caught Shadow's attention. she backed into the opposite corner of the cave, her quills bristling. her eyes were wide, and she seemed out of focus, just staring at the fire and shaking.

"Put it out," she hissed, shaking visibly.

"Put it out, now."

Shadow stared. "Ebony, it's only a campfire," he said, crossing his arms. under his pretense of his 'you-are-so-pathetic-and-I'm-better' look, however, he was curious and actually a bit afraid for her. what was she remembering?

" _NOW!"_

Shadow shook his head, but kicked some dirt onto the flames, snuffing the fire. he then glared accusingly at Ebony, who still seemed tense even though the fire was gone. she trembled in the corner, still staring at where the fire had been. she let out a shaky sigh, before sensing Shadow's eyes on her. she looked up at him, and those red eyes just seemed to envelope her.

"I-I'm S-Sorry..." she gasped, trying to regain control of herself. " I-I have A-a F-fear of f-fire, a p-phobia... I c-can't help it..."

"Pyrophobia... hmph. I guess I understand." Shadow muttered, looking at her in a strange way, like she was an alien or something. Ebony shifted uncomfortably, before noticing a suddenly fascinating chip in the floor. the awkwardness stretched for a few minutes, before Shadow broke the silence.

"Why are you afraid of fire?" he asked, a bit softer, and more gentle than before. Ebony debated on telling him for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea. she didn't expect to see him again, but then if she told him than it really wouldn't matter if she did or not...

"I hope you never have to find out." she said finally, looking him in the eyes. he nodded, before furrowing his brow as he glanced at her shoulder. Ebony had almost forgotten about the painful slash in her nervousness about Shadow, and the sharp, Throbbing pains were beginning to return. she turned and headed back to the niche.

"It's late," she sighed, settling down. she laid back down on the stone floor, fighting a wince. Shadow shook his head.

"You think you're gonna get away with that?" he nodded toward her shoulder. "You need help."

"You don't-" she started, but Shadow was already kneeling by her side.

"Hey! Shadow, I'm fine, I don't need-" Ebony reached up to push his hand away, but apparently Shadow was about to do the same, and their palms touched.

both hedgehogs froze.

"Uh..." Shadow's face turned as red as the stripes on his quills. "S-Sorry... um..."

"I-It's fine, er..." Ebony stuttered. their eyes met, before both dropped their gaze. Shadow gently removed his hand from hers, and pushed her down to the stone. he then took a look at her wound. he frowned. it really _was_ deep... only two things would be able to fix this. it was either amputation or Chaos energy. he went with the latter option, obviously.

Shadow looked around the cave. he saw little to help the situation; a small pool of water, a few pieces of cloth, an what looked like some kind of fruit, like a blue, wrinkled peach. Shadow gathered the cloth, dipped one in the pool, and knelt by her again. he gently pressed one cloth to the wound, causing Ebony to flinch and grit her teeth, showing pointed canines.

"Hold still," he murmured softly.

Ebony glanced up at Shadow, who was busily trying to clean her shoulder. she became aware that her heart was beating rather quickly. As confused as she was about him deciding to help her, she had to admit that she was grateful for it. people in the future rarely helped each other - it wasn't unheard of, but not an often did it happen - as it was everyone for themselves out there with Iblis around. not only this, but Ebony also realized that she felt... _different,_ around him. Shadow didn't know, but she had been following him for weeks before deciding to attack. during this time, she had grown to realize that Shadow was actually much like her... perhaps...

 _Hold it right there, Ebs, You can't be thinking like that! at least, not about him!_ Ebony scolded herself. she had almost admitted it: She liked Shadow! _He's from the past anyway... besides, you have to kill him! he's the whole reason you came here!_

Ebony's heart ached worse than the wound in her shoulder as she remembered. She had to kill him. it was why she had been sent here, Mephiles had told her that in order to save the future, she had to kill Shadow the Hedgehog...

Wait...

Mephiles had never told her how Shadow was related to the rise of Iblis. Shadow... He didn't seem to be evil. Dark, sure, but not evil... Mephiles had told her that Shadow was the evil that had released Iblis. Was Mephiles... _lying?_

"this will hurt," Shadow warned, holding up the Emerald. "hold still... _Chaos Seal_!"

There was a red flash, And a searing hot pain raced across her shoulder, all too similar to that roof that came down eight years ago, when she was ten and Silver was six...

Ebony stiffened, letting out a cry of pain to account for the lack of movement. she could feel raw chaos energy sealing the wound shut, and it _burned like **hell!**_

It was over in a few minutes. Ebony stopped gritting her teeth, and tasted the salty tang of blood as she did so. she hadn't realized that she had bit the inside of her lip. Shadow was kneeling by her side again, tying a cool, wet cloth around her shoulder.

"there. that should help the pain. I know how it feels, and I'm sorry for that... but the good news is your shoulder is okay now, the fur just needs to grow back. don't worry, it's just a few lines, it's not like a patch is missing."

Ebony turned to him, and was instantly aware of how close together their faces were. their noses were just an inch apart from touching tips...

"Well, it's late, like you said earlier... I, uh... I'm gonna go." Shadow said, clearly aware of this too. he got up, the corner of his mouth twitching upward, and turned to leave.

" _Wait!"_ The word echoed in her head as she sent it over to him, soundlessly. the good part of being a master Telepath: you can communicate without the embarassment of others hearing you. She watched him stop, and turn towards her. their eyes met, again.

" _Will you stay... please? I'm lonely, around here..."_ She asked him mentally, and after a moment's hesitation, she could hear his thoughts.

" _I thought you just tried to kill me..."_ Shadow thought to her, only it wasn't in a scornful way; more like he was trying to play with her. flirting.

" _A hunter doesn't always kill it's prey..."_ she told him, a small smile threatening to show.

" _Sometimes it's just to play..!"_ Shadow finished, his own smile cracking. " _Fine, I'll stay, if you insist."_

 _ooooooooooooooooooo_

Shadow the Hedgehog propped himself up on his elbows, watching Ebony sleep peacefully, her back to him, across the cave. He would have been over there, with her, but given the fact that she did indeed try to kill him earlier, he decided that that probably wasn't a good idea.

 _Such a strange Hedgehog..._ He mused to himself, his gaze resting on her. So different from others he had known, in a good way. It was good to know that there was someone else like him in the world. and another hedgehog, too!

Shadow laughed softly, shaking his head at the irony. He knew he was falling in love with her. he had felt the same way with Maria before she was killed. but this hedgehog... the two had met on one's attempt to kill the other, not to mention that even if she hadn't, they had only known each other for a day!

Shadow sighed and laid down, mulling it over in his head, until he fell asleep.

oooooooooooooooo

Ebony lay as still as possible, her eyes closed, hoping desperately that she had convinced Shadow that she was asleep. She was thinking about what Mephiles had told her about him...

 _A black hedgehog is to blame,_ Mephiles had said. _Destroy him, and no harm will come to your world._

Ebony cautiously sat up. Shadow was asleep, his ear flicking a little, trademark of a vivid dream.

A sharp shard of rock lay to her right. with her Telekinesis, she lifted it into the air, above his head. one blow... that's all it would take...

"A black hedgehog..." she whispered to herself. "He is to blame...

Ebony closed her eyes, and shook her head. she wouldn't. she _couldn't._

 _"Don't hesitate..."_ The cold voice of Mephiles the Dark echoed in her head. Ebony flattened her ears.

 _"Your world DIED because of him... it burns with the flames of disaster, and it's his fault... kill him, now..."_

"A black hedgehog..." and then it hit her.

Mephiles was a black hedgehog.

Her mind worked frantically to work it all out. She hadn't liked Mephiles from the day she met him. she had sensed that there was something... _off_ , about him. she couldn't put her finger on it then, but she could now.

Mephiles was using her. manipulating her to eliminate threats to whatever evil plan he had in mind.

It all made sense.

"A black hedgehog is to blame..." she whispered, turning her head sideways to glare at the dark form behind her.

"...Shadow's not the only black hedgehog here, _Mephiles."_ she snarled at him.

 _"What do you mean?"_

"I mean I know who's _REALLY_ to blame," she growled ominously.

 _"A black hedgehog..."_ Mephiles growled at her, before realizing his mistake.

" _ **you**_ are to blame!"

With a roar, Ebony launched the rock shard at the darkness behind her, causing it to melt away.

oooooooooooooo

Shadow snapped awake at the sound of Ebony's roar, and watched the dark form behind her vanish.

She fell to her knees, shaking.

"Ebony..?"

"He used me!" she sobbed, tears running down her face. "He tried to get me to kill you!"

Shadow was perplexed. "Who? Who tried to-"

"Mephiles!" she wailed. "Mephiles the Dark!"

Shadow's blood ran cold at the name of the evil force, who had stolen his form. it suddenly all made sense...

"Hey, it's okay..." he whispered, wrapping his arms around the trembling hedgehog. she pushed her nose into the white fur on his chest, still crying. "you're not the only one he tricked..."

Ebony shook with sobs, and Shadow whispered reassuringly, trying to calm her. he felt terrible for her, as he knew how it felt to be an unknowing conspirator in the destruction of what you love... he couldn't leave her like this...

"Come with us," Shadow suggested. "Join Team Dark, we can keep you safe... we can take care of you... come with **_me_**..."

Ebony looked up at him, and for a startling moment, she was silent.

She had no idea how to express her gratefulness for this offer. no words could be powerful enough...

so, much to Shadow's surprise,

she leaned forward,

and kissed him.

 **The End**


End file.
